Category: Space Exploration

Image credit: Mars Society
Defiance, detachment, disagreement ? harmful emotions in any small group situation, but in Outer Space these feelings are particularly damaging and possibly life endangering.

ANU psychologists are preparing to gather unique insights into the duress of space travel as part of a ?Mars expedition? to be staged in the Australian desert later this year.

The way that small groups of astronauts interact in the extreme, unfamiliar and isolating conditions of space travel will be closely scrutinised by Dr Rachael Eggins, Dr Kate Reynolds and PhD student Mr Phill Krins, from the Psychology Department in the ANU Faculty of Science.

The researchers are set to record the interactions of participants of an expedition into the South Australian outback in August organised by the Mars Society of Australia. This follows on from an initial study of participants in a planetary simulation in the United States last year.

?The rigorous personality testing astronauts undergo in their relatively cosy, comfortable labs can not measure how their personality might change in a confined, socially stifling and unfamiliar space,? Dr Eggins says.

?In everyday life we are very socially dynamic and belong to a number of groups, such as family, work and friends. There are a number of psychological advantages to having such a dynamic social environment, which will be absent when people spend long periods of time in isolation.?

Mr Krins and Dr Steve Dawson, a research psychologist with the Mars Society of Australia, will travel into the desert with the expedition and ask participants ? who try and replicate as closely as possible what it would be like living and working on Mars ? to complete questionnaires designed to monitor social dynamics.

Participants will undergo a daily cortisol (a hormone produced by the body in reaction to stress) measurement test and cognitive testing to gauge stress and performance levels.

Mr Krins will also keep a daily journal to record important social events, such as leadership changes, likely to affect the social dynamics of the expedition.

?One thing we are interested in is the question of whether or not groups are good or bad for your health,? Dr Eggins says. ?We know that in cohesive groups people perform better, work harder and are more cooperative than in loose-knit groups.

?But do cohesive groups make us work too hard and what does that do to our stress levels??

There are also other issues relating to the wrong sort of cohesion in a group, and small sub-groups forming within larger groups.

?There is a danger groups may become too cohesive,? Mr Krins says.

?When this occurs there may be intense pressure for individual crew members to behave in accordance with ?group norms?. For example, if there is a group norm to not report safety breaches, this could put the entire crew in danger.?

Also, past research on groups (whether isolated or not) has shown that it is common for the larger group to splinter into smaller subgroups.

?A number of problems can occur when large groups split off into these smaller groups,? Dr Eggins says. ?Polarisation can lead to infighting and poor decision-making.

?But there are advantages ? subgroups can become an important source of creative new ideas benefiting the larger group. Subgroups are also an important source of identity and pride for people. They then work hard to achieve its goals, improving the mission as a whole.?

With unmanned Mars missions underway and intensifying research interest in the red planet, the ANU researchers believe the human element of space exploration should be taken just as seriously as the technological or scientific. The team?s research will focus on developing guiding principles to avoid problems associated with groups in such stressful circumstances.

?It is important that group differences are managed properly and don?t become a source of conflict or feelings of disenfranchisement,? Dr Eggins says.

?These principles will ensure that individuals maintain commitment to the whole, have avenues for input into decision making and follow leadership guidelines.?

Original Source: ANU News Release

Image credit: NASA
In an unprecedented show of unity, thirteen of the nation’s premier space advocacy groups, industry associations and space policy organizations have teamed up to support the effort to refocus NASA’s human space activities toward exploration, including a return to the Moon and moving on to Mars and beyond.

The organizations involved include: Aerospace Industries Association, Aerospace States Association, American Astronautical Society, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, California Space Authority, Florida Space Authority, The Mars Society, National Coalition of Spaceport States, National Space Society, The Planetary Society, ProSpace, Space Access Society and Space Frontier Foundation.

Collectively these groups can count almost one million Americans as members or as employees of member companies. Their first goal as a group is to work for broad Congressional support of the new national vision for space exploration outside of low earth orbit, which they refer to as Moon, Mars and Beyond. To begin they will work to secure first year funding for the initiative, which they view as a necessary first step for in-depth planning of the exploration program to commence in earnest.

In addition they intend to aggressively refute the false impression that Moon, Mars and Beyond is too expensive for this country to take on. They will demonstrate how modest but steady growth in our national expenditures on space can move the nation toward these important goals, and the benefits those expenditures will provide.

As space activity becomes increasingly integrated with every aspect of life here on earth, this new focus on exploration will provide myriad advances in science and technology, untold economic opportunity and serve as an inspiration to our nation’s youth. Given those benefits and the many more that lie in store, this new program of human space exploration beyond low earth orbit is a vital link to the future of the United States and the world.

Original Source: NSS News Release

Entrepreneurs Anousheh Ansari and Amir Ansari, today announced a multimillion dollar contribution to the X PRIZE Foundation which runs an international competition among private spaceships designed to fly the general public into space. On this day, the 43rd anniversary of astronaut Alan Shepard’s suborbital flight into space, the X PRIZE competition is being renamed the ANSARI X PRIZE Competition to reflect the newly-established title sponsorship. The ANSARI X PRIZE is modeled after the $25,000 Orteig Prize won by Charles Lindbergh in 1927 for his historic flight from New York to Paris.

The ANSARI X PRIZE will award $10 million to the first private organization to build and fly a ship that can carry three passengers 100 km (62 miles) into space, return safely to Earth and repeat the launch with the same ship within two weeks. Both flights must be completed by January 1st, 2005. The competition has been endorsed by leading space and aviation organizations around the world and includes the vision to jump-start the commercialization of space travel and industry the same way that Orteig Prize opened today’s commercial airways.

Space exploration has always been a childhood dream for both Anousheh and brother-in-law Amir, who were born in Iran. “As a child I looked at the stars and dreamed of being able to travel into space,” said Anousheh, an avid space enthusiast. “As an adult, I understand that the only way this dream will become a reality is with the participation of private industry and the creative passion of smart entrepreneurs. The ANSARI X PRIZE provides the perfect vehicle to ignite the imagination and passion of fellow entrepreneurs, giving them and their courageous pilots a platform for success.”

Currently, 26 teams from seven nations around the world have registered to compete. Several teams have already conducted successful test launches and plan to announce their competition launches within the next few months.

“The vision for the X PRIZE Foundation and the ANSARI X PRIZE competition began in May 1996 with the support of the business leaders from the St. Louis Community,” said Dr. Peter H. Diamandis, X PRIZE Foundation Chairman and Founder. “My dream, along with Anousheh and Amir, has been to open space travel to the public. With profound thanks to the Ansari family, we have created a self-fulfilling prophecy. The ANSARI X PRIZE Teams are creating a multitude of different designs specifically for public access. One of these unique designs will win in the months ahead and many others will go on to offer commercial services.”

In March 2004 the X PRIZE Foundation also announced a Presenting Sponsorship from Champ Car World Series, the leading open-wheel race car series. The competition has room for two remaining major sponsorships which will provide a company with its logo on all the competing spaceships, hospitality and a variety of other benefits.

About Anousheh Ansari
Anousheh Ansari is a co-founder of venture capital firm Prodea, Inc. Mrs. Ansari co-founded telecom technologies, inc. (tti), a supplier of softswitch-based solutions for network and service providers in 1993, which was acquired by Sonus Networks in 2000. She was listed in the Fortune magazine’s “40 Under 40” in 2001, recognized by Working Woman magazine as the winner of the 2000 National Entrepreneurial Excellence award and was chosen as the winner of the 1999 Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year, Southwest Region, for the Technology and Communications category.

About Amir Ansari
Amir Ansari is a co-founder of venture capital firm, Prodea, Inc. Mr. Ansari co-founded telecom technologies, inc. and served as the CTO for the company prior to its acquisition by Sonus Networks. He has filed several patents in the area of Voice over IP and is currently sitting on the Board of Directors of several technology companies.

About the X PRIZE Foundation
The X PRIZE Foundation is a not-for-profit educational organization with headquarters in St. Louis, Missouri. Supported by private donations and the St. Louis community, the Foundation’s mission is to create educational programming for students and space enthusiasts as well as provide incentives in the private sector to make space travel frequent and affordable for the general public. Several additional sponsorships for the ANSARI X PRIZE competition remain available to corporations or individuals who wish to support the X PRIZE Foundation and associate themselves with space, speed and high technology.

Original Source: X PRIZE News Release

Image credit: SpaceDev
SpaceDev (OTCBB: SPDV) announced that it has been awarded a five-year $43 million cost-plus-fixed fee indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contract by the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) to conduct a micro satellite distributed sensing experiment, an option for a laser communications experiment, and other micro satellite studies and experiments as required in support of the Advanced System Deputate. The first of four phases is expected to be completed this year and will result in detailed mission and microsat designs. The milestone-based, multiyear, multiphase contract has an effective start date of March 1, 2004.

?This contract is our largest award to-date, and the successful completion of each contract phase would result in significantly accelerated growth in sales and revenues for us over the next few years,? said SpaceDev founding chairman and chief executive, Jim Benson. ?This award is the result of working collaboratively with the MDA team for two years, and our successful and revolutionary Internet-based CHIPSat microsatellite launched in January 2003.

SpaceDev?s new high precision microsats for MDA will build on and improve proprietary SpaceDev-developed CHIPSat technology, such as SpaceDev?s high performance, Miniature Flight Computer?, SpaceDev?s general purpose Micro Space Vehicle Operating System?, SpaceDev?s Internet-based Mission Control and Operations Software? that permits SpaceDev satellites to be controlled from anywhere in the world from a laptop computer. For the new low earth orbit MDA satellites, SpaceDev will increase pointing and tracking precision, increase the processing power of its flight computer to achieve more difficult real-time problem solving on-orbit, add autonomous satellite commissioning, and will introduce other innovative techniques and technologies.

?The SpaceDev engineering team continues its transformational thinking by developing and delivering fast turnaround, high performance, responsive space systems at affordable prices,? said Benson. ?With CHIPSat, our hybrid-based Streaker? small launch vehicle under development for the Air Force, and our hybrid rocket motors for safe government and private sector human space flight, we feel that SpaceDev is in a position to achieve more firsts in space technology and operations. We believe that SpaceDev is becoming a global leader for responsive and innovative small satellites and hybrid rocket propulsion systems.?

Original Source: Spacedev News Release

Image credit: ESA
Will swarms of co-operating robots one day be exploring some of the most intriguing worlds in the solar system? James Law, an engineer who is a doctoral student at the Open University, supports the idea that using whole teams of robotic explorers working together offers distinct advantages, especially when it comes to tackling the challenges presented by remote bodies such as Europa and Titan. In a presentation on Wednesday 31 March at the Royal Astronomical Society’s National Astronomy Meeting at the Open University, he will be reviewing some current ideas on co-operative robot technology and suggesting how it might be applied to a Titan mission with a concept for a ‘Master’ robot controlling a bevy of ‘Slaves’.

Of the 17 landers sent to investigate Mars, only 5 have survived to perform their missions. In spite of this, scientists are already looking for their next planetary targets, with Saturn’s moon Titan and Jupiter’s moon Europa being distinct possibilities. Given both the greater distances involved, and extreme climatic conditions, how can the likelihood of a successful robotic surface mission be increased? Although robotic rovers have become the preferred choice over static landers, due to their greater versatility, the addition of motion systems increases their weight and reduces the reliability of these already complex mechanisms.

Advantages of teamwork
One alternative, proposed in 1989 by Rodney Brooks of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, is finally coming to fruition – the idea of replacing solitary rovers with swarms of cooperative robots. With scientific equipment evenly distributed between them, each rover can be made smaller, lighter, and less complex. These robots can then work together or independently, in order to complete the mission objectives.

This approach has several distinct advantages. Launch costs could be reduced and soft landings achieved by delivering lighter payloads. Robustness is improved, since a critical failure on any rover is isolated from the rest. Although losing a rover may restrict the capabilities of the swarm, it is not likely to result in termination of the mission. Indeed, in many cases the affected rover will still be able to play a useful, though limited role.

Robotic swarms permit a variety of new missions, such as simultaneous measurements over wide areas, useful in climate monitoring and seismic sounding, or multiple experiments performed concurrently by different robots. Rovers can also work together to access areas of greater scientific interest, for example cliff faces. James Law cites David Barnes of the University of Wales at Aberystwyth, who is developing a swarm of aerobots – flying robots which could be used for terrain mapping or deploying smaller micro rovers. Another benefit of using small cooperative rovers is that additional robots can be launched and integrated into the swarm to extend a mission, enabling new experiments, or replacement of lost and damaged rovers.

Robots for Titan
In his talk, James Law will present his own vision for a mission to Titan. Though we have to wait for the Huygens probe, due to land on Titan early next year, to discover the true nature of Titan’s surface, it is likely to be mixed. “In this situation, a Master-Slave robot configuration with a variety of transport modes could be favourable,” he suggests. “A ‘Master’ lander supplying power and communications provides an outpost for a number of small ‘Slave’ rovers and balloons. The lander would be equipped with a range of scientific packages, which it could distribute amongst its slave robots depending on the environment around the landing site. These subordinate robots are then able to act either cooperatively – for example, to dig and image a trench in order to investigate its geological layers – or on their own, analysing or collecting samples and returning them to the lander for more in-depth analysis. The rovers would return to the lander to recharge their batteries and change their scientific payloads. Robots capable of operating in a liquid environment could be dispersed on any Titan sea to measure wave motion, perhaps by balloon, then be sacrificed, by ‘drowning’, to measure conditions below the surface.”

Exploring Europa
Among schemes proposed by others that James Law will review is one for the exploration of Europa, devised by Jeff Johnson of the Open University and Rodney Buckland of the University of Kent. It involves Self Organising IMAging Robots, or soimars, small cube-shaped robots each carrying a single-pixel imaging device (such as a photodiode) and weighing as little as 10 grams. Each one is able to communicate with its neighbours and is capable of moving in water, using small propulsion screws. A swarm of these tiny robots could be deployed into a sub surface ocean on Europa to image the environment.

A transport craft containing communications and power facilities would land on Europa’s ice crust and release an ice-penetrating device containing the soimars. This device would bore through the ice and release the soimars into the ocean. The soimars then self-organise into a stack, aligning their imaging devices. By cooperatively swimming, the stack scans an area under the ice. If a single imaging device fails, the faulty soimar is simply released and the swarm reorganises to form an error free array. This also enables more soimars, perhaps from subsequent landers, to join the swarm and improve the image resolution. In this configuration, the soimars are physically attached to one another. An alternative use would be to equip them with touch sensors and have them swim as a dispersed cloud along the ocean floor, mapping its elevation. A simulation has been developed at the Open University to demonstrate the self-organising behaviour of the swarm.

A mechanical workforce for Mars
The Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) has research underway on cooperative robot teams, including robotic work crews for carrying large items, robotic excavation teams, and robots that can rappel one another down steep cliff faces. An objective of this work at JPL is to deploy a robotic workforce on Mars to construct mining and refining facilities, which will provide fuel for future human missions. With proposals to land men on Mars, and eventually more distant locations, these robotic work crews will be indispensable in both investigating the destinations, and creating outposts to support our arrival.

Original Source: RAS News Release

Image credit: NASA
Sludge. That’s what most people think of when they envision the gray, powdery soil ? called regolith ? covering the airless surface of the Moon. Not Dr. Mike Duke. He sees gold.

Gold in the form of rocket propellant, power, and even breathable air ? all things that will be as valuable as gold to the first Moon-dwellers.

“As a young man, I wanted to go to the Moon,” says 68-year-old Duke, who was one of the first geologists to study samples from Moon rocks collected during the Apollo missions in the 1970s. I may be too old to make the trip when Americans return to the Moon, but the research I am leading will help the first lunar settlers take what’s there and make something practical.”

Duke is an expert in what space explorers call “in-situ resource utilization” or ISRU ? living off the land of an alien world. In 2003, he was named director of the Center for Commercial Applications of Combustion in Space Centers at the Colorado School of Mines in Golden ? one of NASA’s 15 Research Partnership. He joined the partnership center in 2000 and uses skills he honed during his 25-year career as a NASA geologist. In 1965, he was a candidate for NASA’s Scientist Astronaut Program, made the finals, but wasn’t selected to fly. He went on to help other space explorers, from 1976 until 1990 as the director of the Solar System Exploration Division and from 1990 to 1995 as the chief scientist for the Human Exploration Program ? both at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.

“We can’t take everything to the Moon or Mars with us,” Duke says. “Today, it would take about 100,000 dollars to get a couple pounds of material moved from Earth to the Moon. So making propellant on the Moon would make trips back to Earth or on to Mars less expensive.”

Before you can process the lunar soil and turn it into rocket propellant or other useful materials, you have to figure out a way to mine it. For four years, Duke and a team of graduate students have been working on a robotic excavator. They built a prototype that weighs around a hundred pounds and has a chassis similar to the NASA rovers ? Spirit and Opportunity ? on Mars now. An arm-like boom extends from the vehicle’s front end. It sports a wheel of buckets that scoop up soil. The dirt falls out of the buckets and into a conveyer system that takes it up the side of the boom. The arm moves from side to side and excavates a swath of dirt one and a half feet wide, the width of the excavator.

The current model can dig up several hundred pounds of dirt in an hour, but the team is working to increase the excavation rate. They also are designing a system to shoot the dirt from the excavator to a “lunar dump truck.” The truck would carry the soil to a processing facility to extract hydrogen ? a component of the fuel that powers the Space Shuttle and could fuel a lunar rocket.

Duke and his students also have completed a model that identifies lunar resources and their potential uses. The team even examined how a company could make money on the Moon, and came up with a scenario for a “space filling station” ? where in-space tugs would be loaded with lunar-made propellants and used to boost communications satellites to high orbits.

Why is Duke concerned with space business ventures? Collaborating with industry to explore the solar system is one of the goals of the Research Partnership Centers managed by the Space Partnership Development Program at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., for NASA’s Office of Biological and Physical Research, Washington.

“NASA’s Research Partnership Centers bring together industry, academia and government to advance exploration in space,” says Duke. “These collaborations are an effective way to create new technologies at lower costs.”

One of the aspects Duke most enjoys about his job is creating new opportunities for students to conduct original research that will help advance space exploration.

“I studied geology at Caltech because I loved California ‘s mountains and deserts,” recalls Duke, a Los Angeles native who earned his doctorate degree in 1963 from the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. “But the university was a hotbed for planetary science, and my professors inspired me to study the geology of meteorites and the Moon. I want my students to become the next generation of scientists and engineers who take America to the Moon and beyond.”

One recent project that students helped design was the water mist investigation, conducted in space to examine how to fight fire with a fog-like mist of water ? instead of large amounts of water that can damage computers and other equipment. The STS-107 Space Shuttle crew completed the experiment during their January 2003 flight.

Although the experiment equipment was lost in the Columbia accident, the team received data from video sent back to Earth during the mission. They are using the data to design a space fire extinguisher for contained environments such as spacecraft, space habitats and submarines.

For more information visit:

http://www.nasa.gov

Center for Commercial Applications of Combustion in Space

http://www.mines.edu/research/ccacs/

Office of Biological and Physical Research

http://spaceresearch.nasa.gov/

Space Partnership Development Program

http://www.spd.nasa.gov

Original Source: NASA News Release

Image credit: ESA
In the course of its meeting in Kiruna (Sweden) on 24 and 25 March, the ESA Council approved the accession of Greece and Luxembourg to the ESA Convention.

The two countries are expected to become full members of the Agency by 1 December 2005, after their national approval procedures have been completed.

The Hellenic Republic officially applied to join ESA last October, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg in December. The ESA Council unanimously approved both applications.

Greece and Luxembourg were granted observer status to attend meetings of ESA?s Council and all its subordinate bodies, to enable them to familiarise themselves with the Agency?s procedures and working practices.

Original Source: ESA News Release

Image credit: NASA
Expert witnesses before the House Science Committee today endorsed the broad outlines of the President’s space exploration initiative, but called for changes and refinements in some of its elements.

Specifically, several witnesses criticized the reductions proposed in NASA’s space science programs to pay for the initiative, and they urged NASA to come up with new ways to get fresh ideas into the program, including from entrepreneurs and the public. The witnesses also agreed that understanding and counteracting the effects of radiation in space on human physiology is one of the most serious hurdles to sustained human activity in space. Two of the witnesses argued that the moon might not be a sensible interim goal for the exploration initiative, but others endorsed the approach outlined in the President’s plan – first the space station, then the moon and then Mars.

Committee Chairman Sherwood Boehlert (R-NY) and Ranking Democrat Bart Gordon (D-TN) both emphasized their continuing concerns with the potential costs.

“I think all I need to say about my views this morning is to reiterate that I remain undecided about whether and how to undertake the exploration program. I would add that, as the outlines of the likely fiscal 2005 budget become clearer, my questions about the initiative only become more pressing,” said Boehlert.

Boehlert added that the fiscal 2005 NASA budget proposal needed to be reviewed in the context of the entire federal science budget. “My strong feeling, and I think it’s shared by others on this Committee, is that a society unwilling to invest in science and technology is a society willing to write its own economic obituary. So we’re looking in the broad category of science?and then NASA is a subset of that, and a subset of our investment in NASA is human versus unmanned. And so we’re trying to get answers to some very specific questions involving cost and risk – answers that are not easy to come up with.”

Gordon stated, “I support the goal of exploring our solar system. However, until I am convinced that the President’s plan to achieve that goal is credible and responsible, I am not prepared to give that plan my support.”

Witnesses had differing views on the costs. Dr. Michael Griffin, President and Chief Operating Officer of In-Q-Tel, said budget estimates of the cost of the President’s initiative – “$50-55 billion to rebuild a basic Apollo-like capability by 2020” – were overestimated. He noted this estimate was considerably higher than a 1991-1993 lunar outpost study he was involved in of which top-level cost estimates were about $30 billion in 2003 dollars, or 40 percent less than the President’s proposal.

Space and Aeronautics Subcommittee Chairman Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) asked Dr. Griffin what he would “predict it would take us to go to the moon and then to go Mars?” Griffin answered, “I believe that the first expeditions to Mars should be accomplishable within an amount of funding approximately equal to what we spent on Apollo?in today’s dollars, about $130 billion. Certainly that would envelope it. I believe that it should be possible to return to the moon for in the neighborhood of $30 billion in today’s dollars. And those are both fairly comfortable amounts.” Griffin said those missions could “easily” be accomplished within those dollar amounts in 10 years, but “you would have to decide to do it and to allocate the money, but I think that’s the level of resource commitment that’s required.”

Dr. Donna Shirley, Director of the Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame in Seattle and former Manager of the Mars Exploration Program at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory said she thought Dr. Griffin’s numbers were “pretty good, provided that we do the stepping-stone to the moon and we don’t stop there and we don’t start building infrastructure and don’t start doing what we did with Space Station. If we go to the moon and then right on to Mars?those are not bad numbers.”

“I do not have the figures to either agree or disagree with Dr. Griffin’s. I do however fear that once committing to go back to the moon we’ll never make it to Mars,” added Dr. Laurence Young, Apollo Program Professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Founding Director of the National Space Biomedical Research Institute in Houston.

Dr. Lennard Fisk, Chair of the National Research Council’s Space Studies Board urged policymakers to consider a “learn-as-you-go” approach. “Deciding on these answers – how fast you go back to the moon, how much does it cost you, whether you go to Mars, is going to depend on each incremental step that we go?the moon appeals to me for the simple reason that we have an opportunity to go there and try out some of our technical solutions on the way and decide whether they’re going to be adequate?The cost of this thing should not – I don’t think we should try to find a number. We should try and find a number of what are the steps that we should take on which we learn something and we adjust our program to take the next logical step – incrementally walk through this thing,” said Dr. Fisk.

Mr. Norman Augustine, chair of the Advisory Committee on the Future of the U.S. Space Program and former Chief Executive Officer of Lockheed Martin, expressed his strong support for such a “stepwise” approach over such a long-term program. “If, for example, we are to pursue an objective that requires twenty years to achieve, that then implies we must have the sustained support of five consecutive presidential administrations, ten consecutive Congresses and twenty consecutive federal budgets – a feat the difficulty of which seems to eclipse any technological challenge space exploration may engender. This consideration argues for a major space undertaking that could be accomplished in step-wise milestones, each contributing to a uniting long-term goal?It is this consideration which justifies a mission to Mars with an initial step to the moon – as philosophically opposed to a return to the moon with a potential visit to Mars.”

Space and Aeronautics Subcommittee Ranking Member Nick Lampson (D-TX) noted, “Mr. Augustine states in his written testimony that ‘it would be a grave mistake to try to pursue a space program ‘on the cheap.’ To do so is in my opinion an invitation to disaster.’ I could not agree more.”

Young discussed one of the most difficult challenges facing human missions to the moon or Mars: the impact of spending long periods in space on the human body. Dr. Young stated, “Overall, the current suite of exercise countermeasures, relying primarily on treadmill, resistance devices, is unreliable, time consuming, and inadequate by itself to assure the sufficient physical conditioning of astronauts going to Mars. Radiation remains the most vexing and difficult issue.” He discussed some research being conducted, but noted much remains to be done. He also argued, “The proposal to limit [International Space Station] research to the impact of space on human health and to end support for other important microgravity science and space technology seems short-sighted.”

Shirley also expressed several concerns with the President’s plan, noting, “The costs of the program are difficult to evaluate but there appear to be several strategic flaws, including a possibly premature phase-out of the shuttle and premature focus on a specific approach. There is no real information on which to judge the impact of exploration on other NASA missions.” She recommended that the Administration revisit the nation’s space exploration goals and suggested a process including workshops and studies that would bring in a wide-range of new stakeholders and fully engage the public in the effort.

Original Source: House Committee on Science News Release

Image credit: Scaled Composites
The House of Representatives today approved legislation, sponsored by Space and Aeronautics Subcommittee Chairman Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA), designed to promote the development of the emerging commercial human space flight industry. H.R. 3752, The Commercial Space Launch Amendments Act of 2004, would put in place a clear, balanced regulatory regime to promote the industry while ensuring public safety. The legislation now heads to the U.S. Senate.

“Through our hearings and other work on the bill, I have come to see this as one of the most important measures this Committee will move this year,” stated House Science Committee Chairman Sherwood Boehlert (R-NY). “This is about a lot more than ‘joy rides’ in space, although there’s nothing wrong with such an enterprise. This is about the future of the U.S. aerospace industry. As in most areas of American enterprise, the greatest innovations in aerospace are most likely to come from small entrepreneurs. This is true whether we’re talking about launching humans or cargo. And the goal of this bill is to promote robust experimentation, to make sure that entrepreneurs and inventors have the incentives and the capabilities they need to pursue their ideas. That’s important to our nation’s future.” Boehlert’s full statement follows this release.

Rohrabacher noted, “It is my sincere hope that this bill will encourage individuals like Burt Rutan and others to continue leading the way in pushing the boundaries of technology and safety by building and flight testing hardware, something NASA has yet to do. This fine piece of legislation carries forward my goal of promoting this new industry and cutting back bureaucratic red tape, while protecting the public health and safety.”

“No one can say for certain whether commercial human space flight will become a major industry. However, I believe that the provisions in H.R.3752 will help nurture its growth while at the same ensuring that public health and safety are protected,” said Science Committee Ranking Democrat Bart Gordon (D-TN).

Major provisions of the legislation are designed to:

* eliminate any confusion about who should regulate flights of suborbital rockets carrying human beings by explicitly locating all commercial space flight authority under the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Office of Commercial Space Transportation (AST);
* make it easier to launch new types of reusable suborbital rockets by allowing AST to issue experimental permits that can be granted more quickly and with fewer requirements than licenses;
* extend government indemnification for the entire commercial space transportation industry (including licensed, non-experimental commercial human space launches) for a period of three years, but the bill will not grant indemnification for flights conducted under experimental permits, which will be more lightly regulated; and
* require a study on how best to gradually eliminate indemnification for the commercial space transportation industry by 2008 or as soon as possible thereafter.

Today’s House passage represents the culmination of a long and thorough process beginning last July with a joint House-Senate hearing, a Space Subcommittee hearing last fall and a policy roundtable with experts in the commercial space transportation industry late last year.

“Today, the U.S. House of Representatives has led the nation toward a significant next step in developing space and creating a major new economic engine for powering our nation’s economy. With the passage of HR 3752, the House has demonstrated real vision for America’s future in space. This bill helps define the critical framework for a commercial space regulatory process and authorizes the very important federal agency that is responsible for commercial space regulation. The leadership of both the House Subcommittee on Space and the House Committee on Science should be highly commended for their work in passing this bill,” said Tim Huddleston, Executive Director of the Aerospace States Association.

“H.R. 3752 is precisely the kind of legislation Congress should enact in order to give investors like me confidence that our space tourism ventures will be regulated in a fair and streamlined manner. I hope the Senate takes up this bill soon and sends it on to President Bush for his signature.,” stated Dennis Tito, the first space tourist in history.

Jeff Greason, President of Xcor Aerospace, a private rocket firm with goals of sending human beings into space said, “We think H.R. 3752 is very carefully crafted legislation which will help commercial human spaceflight develop in America. Confirming the FAA’s definition of suborbital flight, establishing a ‘fly at your own risk’ human spaceflight regime, and creating the new ‘experimental permit’ framework are all important steps which we fully support. We hope the bill moves through Congress swiftly retaining these key provisions.”

Original Source: House Committee on Science

An explosion at a solid fuel booster plant caused a large fire at the main Indian space complex; reports about the number of dead and injured are still coming in. ISRO Chairman G Madhavan Nair rushed to the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota to survey the damage and assist the recovery. Not more than seven people were known to be in the building. Three were sent to hospital with burns, and rescuers are searching for 3 more who were in the booster plant when the explosion occurred.